# How to properly "Purge" a Cigar?



## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

Hi fellow B/SOTL,

Just wondering if you can help me out with something in regards to purging.

The past couple of cigars I've had, both have tasted of ammonia and/or chemicals in the last third of the stick. I've been told that this is tar build-up, and that it can be fixed by purging your cigar as you smoke.

So the last cigar I had a couple days ago (Perdomo Champagne), I blew through the cigar in places, but the last third still gave me that awful flavor. I probably blew through (purged) the cigar about 5 times in all throughout the hour/hour and fifteen minutes I smoked it.

So perhaps I'm purging wrong? Or not enough? What are some tips you can give me and other folks on here about purging?

Thanks! :vs_cool:


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

How long have they been acclimating? Ammonia taste is usually a sign they need more time in the humi.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Purging cigars is used when our cigars tend to go "south" and become a bit acrid....it's supposed to be like rebooting a computer but let's face something here....purging isn't going to correct a cigar that is going through it's initial "sick period" where there is evidence of ammonia present. Purging doesn't get rid of the ammonia...it only redirects when a cigar is almost going out and that stale taste is evident. Example: you're drawing on your cigar twice a minute but you get called away for 5 minutes because your wife is whining about how the garbage disposal isn't working ( because she shoved a cucumber down there with a bunch of other stuff that she wants to get rid of in the fridge and thinks that the disposal is like a wood chipper...it ain't just like I keep telling my wife ) and then you go back to your cigar and it's a smoldering POS and you take a draw and it tastes like the droppings from your dog...time to purge.


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## Matt_21 (May 15, 2014)

Well put Cigary.
Great example.


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## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

UBC03 said:


> How long have they been acclimating? Ammonia taste is usually a sign they need more time in the humi.


Huh....you know, that Perdomo I smoked was in my Tupperdore probably 2 months? Maybe 1?

Before that, though, I smoked a Fuente Hemingway Perfecto that sat in there for about 8 months, maybe a bit more. Same problem.



Cigary said:


> Purging cigars is used when our cigars tend to go "south" and become a bit acrid....it's supposed to be like rebooting a computer but let's face something here....purging isn't going to correct a cigar that is going through it's initial "sick period" where there is evidence of ammonia present. Purging doesn't get rid of the ammonia...it only redirects when a cigar is almost going out and that stale taste is evident. Example: you're drawing on your cigar twice a minute but you get called away for 5 minutes because your wife is whining about how the garbage disposal isn't working ( because she shoved a cucumber down there with a bunch of other stuff that she wants to get rid of in the fridge and thinks that the disposal is like a wood chipper...it ain't just like I keep telling my wife ) and then you go back to your cigar and it's a smoldering POS and you take a draw and it tastes like the droppings from your dog...time to purge.


May I just say that this was an EPIC response, good sir.

So...purging isn't meant to get rid of the ammonia flavor? Because I was told that was just tar build-up.

But now it would seem like I just need to give my sticks more time?

Ugh, I HATE that! I am so impatient!


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## Matt_21 (May 15, 2014)

Are you changing the air in the Tupperdor regularly?
If not the gases let out by the aging cigars will stay trapped in there. Ammonia being one of the things that is escaping the cigars.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

I try to give most of my smokes at least a year. Unless I know they have some time on them before I get em. If you use a punch or a v- cutter ,those can lead to tar build up.


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## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

Matt_21 said:


> Are you changing the air in the Tupperdor regularly?
> If not the gases let out by the aging cigars will stay trapped in there. Ammonia being one of the things that is escaping the cigars.


Huh...I am not. The only time I open my tupperdore is when I take a cigar out or put more in from my B&M.

How often would you say I should open it and let it air out? And for how long?

I'm so anal about keeping my humidity up (just added another Boveda 65% pack last week after my humidity started to drop to 62 and 63%), that I'm careful about leaks and humidity escaping. Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong...:ask:

I currently have 25 cigars in my tupperdore right now, and I plan to buy more this afternoon.


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## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

UBC03 said:


> I try to give most of my smokes at least a year. Unless I know they have some time on them before I get em. If you use a punch or a v- cutter ,those can lead to tar build up.


Wow! A year? I've heard of people doing this.

I use a Cuban Crafters Perfect Cutter. Works beautifully.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

I don't smoke much in the winter. Freezing to death is not something I want to try. I smoke a couple a week in the summer. Once you have a bunch of em it's easy to let em rest. Then you throw in my new pipe habit it'll stretch it out further. I just sent out a bunch of yard gars that had over 3 years. That was because I hated them,not because I was saving them for any purpose.


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## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

UBC03 said:


> I don't smoke much in the winter. Freezing to death is not something I want to try. I smoke a couple a week in the summer. Once you have a bunch of em it's easy to let em rest. Then you throw in my new pipe habit it'll stretch it out further. I just sent out a bunch of yard gars that had over 3 years. That was because I hated them,not because I was saving them for any purpose.


No worries here: I smoke strictly at cigar lounges. I'll only smoke outside if there's absolutely no wind, and 70 degrees with low humidity.

And here in the Pacific North West, that's not often.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

General rule of thumb with tupperware......take the top off for at least 30 seconds every week for a nice exchange. Tupperware is a great product for obvious reasons...it seals. If you don't burp the sucker it just keeps stale air inside..and that's highly ungood. Ammonia is a byproduct of fermentation of the tobacco so when storing cigars understand that within the first few months of storage there is going to be some ammonia content. There is a 2nd 'sick period' according to Min Ron Nee but you'd have to be part blood hound to really have that kind of sense of taste to taste the ammonia. As far as the dreaded "tar" that comes from what we assume that it is sap left inside the stem of the leaf which doesn’t evaporate during fermentation....I think it's from the Cigar Gods who from time to time will play practical jokes on us mere mortals.

Purging won't heal a cigar with tar oil.....purging 4 or more times during your smoking is a waste unless your cigar is having quality issues where it might be plugged and even then purging isn't going to really fix that....a good draw tool is what you need.

Another good rule of thumb....you don't have to wait more than month to smoke your cigars you bought....a month is adequate just so that you give your cigars some time to acclimate and balance.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)




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## coachdread (Apr 25, 2015)

While others have artfully covered the rest and ammonia angle, I have another suspicion...it could be that you're smoking a little too fast or drawing a little too hard and overheating the cherry. When this happens you do release more tar and get a nasty little surprise. The fact that it's hitting you in the last third is what makes me think it may not be the way you're storing or resting them. Or I could be full of crap.:vs_cool:


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## Jade Falcon (Jul 16, 2015)

Cigary said:


> General rule of thumb with tupperware......take the top off for at least 30 seconds every week for a nice exchange. Tupperware is a great product for obvious reasons...it seals. If you don't burp the sucker it just keeps stale air inside..and that's highly ungood. Ammonia is a byproduct of fermentation of the tobacco so when storing cigars understand that within the first few months of storage there is going to be some ammonia content. There is a 2nd 'sick period' according to Min Ron Nee but you'd have to be part blood hound to really have that kind of sense of taste to taste the ammonia. As far as the dreaded "tar" that comes from what we assume that it is sap left inside the stem of the leaf which doesn't evaporate during fermentation....I think it's from the Cigar Gods who from time to time will play practical jokes on us mere mortals.
> 
> Purging won't heal a cigar with tar oil.....purging 4 or more times during your smoking is a waste unless your cigar is having quality issues where it might be plugged and even then purging isn't going to really fix that....a good draw tool is what you need.
> 
> Another good rule of thumb....you don't have to wait more than month to smoke your cigars you bought....a month is adequate just so that you give your cigars some time to acclimate and balance.


Huh. So....if I can smoke them within a month of getting them, and the ammonia flavor is still present...then, how do I get rid of it? Just leave them for more than a few months and let them rest?



coachdread said:


> While others have artfully covered the rest and ammonia angle, I have another suspicion...it could be that you're smoking a little too fast or drawing a little too hard and overheating the cherry. When this happens you do release more tar and get a nasty little surprise. The fact that it's hitting you in the last third is what makes me think it may not be the way you're storing or resting them. Or I could be full of crap.:vs_cool:


You know....I actually just started changing my smoking routine these past couple of sticks. The problem was this (not my pictures, and my cigars were a little more burned out than this):



















Tunneling. So, in following the advice of this article:

The Burning Question: Burn Issues in Cigars

I've sped up my smoking. And my past two cigars actually improved dramatically in burn (sharper), ash (more solid), and cigar temperature (cooler wrapper/cooler to the touch).

So I guess it's an on-going experiment, to find the perfect mix of smoking speed and burn rate.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Usually ammonia comes from cigars that are relatively new to the marketplace. ..not brands that have been around awhile....newly harvested cigars will go through sick periods. If you're blessed with a good nose you can pick up traces of ammonia through sniffing the foot...but it's a good idea to let your cigars marinate a good month anyways.


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## Steve C. (Jun 16, 2015)

Back to the original question: How do you purge tar????


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

Like @Cigary said purging doesn't help with tar build up. To avoid tar build up slow down ,punch and v-cutters add to tar build up. Purging is pretty much to get rid of built up smoke or maybe help correct a slight burn issue. To purge a cigar just blow back through the cigar for a couple seconds. My advice is do it after the ash falls. Once or twice a smoke is enough, if at all. The only time I purge a cigar is if I'm not gonna finish it and will come back to it later. I purge it right before it goes out then clip it a little below the burn line.


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## Negatron (Jul 3, 2015)

Cigary said:


> Example: you're drawing on your cigar twice a minute but you get called away for 5 minutes because your wife is whining about how the garbage disposal isn't working ( because she shoved a cucumber down there with a bunch of other stuff that she wants to get rid of in the fridge and thinks that the disposal is like a wood chipper...


I lol'd, this was so real

I vividly remember my girlfriend cramming food down the drain, to which she explained "I figured if it could fit through the holes it would be OK." -- I didnt have a disposal here, either.

Life is fun


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

Negatron said:


> I lol'd, this was so real
> 
> I vividly remember my girlfriend cramming food down the drain, to which she explained "I figured if it could fit through the holes it would be OK." -- I didnt have a disposal here, either.
> 
> Life is fun


My step daughter was trying to be nice and did the dishes that her and her friends used. I came home from work and she told me the disposal was broken and the sink was filled with water and food. I had to tell her the "disposal switch she was flipping was the light over the sink and we didn't have a disposal" I had to take the drain lines out because they were packed solid. We'd already been living here for around 3 yrs if that tells you how often she did dishes. It's funny now, but then not so much.


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## Ranger0282 (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks everyone I just learned a LOT.. I have planned on finding the perfect cigar, buying a couple of boxes and using this Tupperware idea that I learned here and trying to age them.


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## MichiganSRT8 (Jan 9, 2016)

Sub'd to read later, I need to know this as well, think I'm doing it right but at the same time don't think so as well, can always learn!


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## gunnermcgee (Aug 31, 2013)

You may want to try keeping a slightly lower humidity. I find I have almost zero tunneling and no ammonia taste since I started keeping my "ready to smoke" sticks in the low 60's. I get a lot more flavor and perfect burns in this range. Maybe get another small tupperware and try a couple that you've had problems with before at a little lower humidity, I bet you will have a better experience.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

If you want to speed up the process of a lower rh try dry boxing. Take out a smoke or 2,put em in an old cigar out any non humidified container for a couple days. Fire em up and see if it's any better.


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